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“About 19 per cent of investors say their preferred model for paying an adviser is performance-based fee,” according to Mark Johnston, principal of research firm Investment Trends. (Reported here today). Performance based fees will not work for most types of financial advice. Performance based fees for finance advice may only be appropriate when: The advice [...]

In January I sold an investment asset that I had bought only one month earlier – and the sale netted me just under a 5000% return on investment. The investment I made was in buying an Internet domain name. It is like virtual property investment. To help you start learning more about investing in Internet domain names I’ve interviewed my domainer mentor, Ed Keay-Smith. Listen to the interview here.

Groceries are one of the largest costs in most people’s budget, costing around 17 percent of average household spending. Did you know you could easily and legitimately save five percent on your groceries without changing your shopping habits? That would be over $500 per year for the average family. Both of the two large supermarket chains in Australia provide means to purchase their gift cards at a five percent discount to the card value. In this article I share two ways to get those discounted cards.

When I talk to people about the importance of erecting safety nets under their lifestyle I am often countered with “won’t I be able to get Centrelink?” Centrelink is social security not social comfort nor social choice. Theoretically social security is to keep you above the poverty line if misfortune strikes. But many who rely [...]

Have you been watching the investment markets fluctuate over the past year and wondering if you should be getting back in, or just in at all? If so you may be interested in this perspective published by AXA Australia today called Charting The Future – Guide To Investment Markets. This is an updated version of [...]

Insurance is a tool to help protect your lifestyle and wealth creation if misfortune strikes. This article provides a brief overview of the four main types of personal risk insurance. Commonly these are referred to under the umbrella term of “life insurance” but they each serve distinct purposes. Think of each type as a different [...]

The wealthiest people in the world are entrepreneurs – not passive investors in residential property (the backyard BBQ favourite.) In my experience of working with people many want to start their own business. But their traditional education and employee experience often has not given them the toolkit to succeed. In the video below Cameron Herold [...]

Self managed superannuation funds (SMSF) are often sold to people on the basis of getting greater control. That’s rubbish! Every time I hear it I roll my eyes and sigh heavily. An off the shelf fund gives you great control When you are thinking of getting more control over your superannuation, what control are you [...]

This article is reprinted with permission of the author LawCentral. As with most things whether you use a corporate trustee to run your self managed superannuation fund entirely depends on your situation. Your accountant is the best person to ask. A Corporate Trustee is good if you fall into the following categories: You are secretive and own [...]

In a study conducted at Stanford University children were left in a room, each with a marshmallow, and given a choice of eating it then or fifteen minutes later, when they were promised a marshmallow as an extra reward for waiting. Imagine you are your five year old self – what would you do in [...]

A client just forwarded the following parable to me. Have a read and please let me know your reactions in the comments below. The original author is unknown. Tax cuts in terms everyone can understand Suppose that every day, ten men go out for dinner. The bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid [...]

If you’re already in business you know the importance of building and managing your brand. And you’ve probably heard of Facebook and Twitter. But have you started to harness the power of these communities to interact with your customers, both current and prospective? You may be thinking that since you already have a website for your business you don’t need a Facebook page. Well in this article you’ll discover why it may be handy to have both plus get access to a free guide to setting up your Facebook business page.

Question: My client is distraught. After finding out that her husband’s personal assistant was taking the ‘personal’ part of the job literally, they are now divorced. I am a Western Australian accountant that wants to protect my already fragile client. I hear that divorce invalidates a Will. Should she make a new Will? What happens if she fails to make a new Will? Read the article for the answer…

ASIC, the Australian regulator of most financial services, has published this introductory book called “Investing Between the Flags: A Practical Guide to Investing“. If you are absolutely brand new to planning your money and investing then this book may be useful in enlightening you of concepts that are essential to understand. In a sense it [...]

The latest Australian Unity Wellbeing Index published today explores what we already know in our gut – that unemployment deeply affects our wellbeing. As the author of the Australian Unity Wellbeing Index, Professor Cummins from Deakin University notes: “[Unemployment] is devastating to the wellbeing of the people directly affected and also to the wellbeing of [...]